Lift 2: From Chat to Code

Where We're Starting

In Lift 1, you proved something important: you can describe what you want in plain English and AI will build it. You used that skill in Run 1 to create an Avalanche Field Guide — a real, working thing you built by talking to AI.

But you probably noticed something: the danger ratings are hardcoded, the weather data is made up, every change means re-generating the whole thing from scratch, and there's no way for your team to build different parts at the same time. You built something real — but chat has real limits.

This lift bridges that gap. You're about to move from a chat interface into a real development environment — one where your work lives as files, connects to real data, and persists between sessions. Same prompting skills. New superpowers.

What You'll Learn

By the end of this lift, you'll understand what changes when you move from chat to a real development environment — and you'll be ready to put it to work:

• Why chat tools have limits and what a development environment gives you
• What a codebase actually is (it's simpler than you think)
• What becomes possible when AI can read and write files — real data, real apps, real persistence
• How to explore and navigate your project using AI

Sections

1. From Chat to Code — Why you're making this transition and what it unlocks
2. Your Code is Just Files — Demystifying the codebase — it's a recipe book, not rocket science
3. What File Access Unlocks — Real data, real apps, real persistence
4. Bringing Your Prototype Home — Migrate your chat prototype into your project and explore what's there

By the End of This Lift

• You can explain what a codebase is and why version history matters
• You've made your first change and saved and synced your work
• You understand what file access makes possible that chat couldn't do
• You've migrated your Run 1 prototype into your project
• You know what's real and what's hardcoded in your Field Guide — and you're ready to fix that in Run 2